Why Does She Stay?
by DistantDaydreamer
Summary: Bobby's wife deals with a lot of crap and he wonders why. BobbyOC, Why Does She Stay by NeYo songfic


_**Bobby's wife deals with a lot of crap and he wonders why. BobbyOC, Why Does She Stay by NeYo songfic **_

_**Why does she stay?**_

_**Why does she stay?**_

_**Why does she stay?**_

"Hey, baby, we're out of beer!" Bobby yells, grabbing a soda before slamming the refrigerator door. His wife, Elle, pokes her head in the kitchen to reply. They've only been married for a few months. They met at Angel and Sofi's wedding a few months prior to that, and the rest is history.

"I know, Bobby, I asked you to pick up some groceries, including beer, on the way home yesterday, but you didn't. Therefore, no beer." Elle's words are sharp but her tone is patient. She comes in and wraps her arms around Bobby from behind when he sighs.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so tired after work." He mumbles, pulling away from her embrace and not noticing her hurt expression.

"It's okay. You know what, I'll just go to the store now." Elle says quietly, leaving without another word.

_**She hates that I don't do dishes**_

_**Even though I mess up the most**_

_**And she begs me all the time to help her**_

_**I know that I should, but I'm lazy, so I don't**_

"Bobby, why are there no forks?" Elle asks, staring down at the empty silverware drawer. Bobby, glued to a Red Wings game, yells his reply.

"Oh, I forgot to empty the dishwasher, sorry." Elle leans in the kitchen doorway, frowning slightly.

"Come on now, Bobby. I load the dishwasher, wash by hand what won't fit, could you at least put away the dishes? I'll settle for the silverware at this point!" Bobby mutes the TV and finally looks in her direction.

"Baby, can this wait till halftime?" Elle can't help but smile. He's even cute when he's exasperated.

"Yeah, sure."

_**And she's always considering my feelings**_

_**Thinking of me before herself**_

_**Most of the time I'm so damn selfish**_

_**I don't even realize she treats me so well**_

"Bobby! We here, sorry we're late!" Angel hollers, blowing in along with Jerry. Elle immediately comes and shuts the door gently.

"Hey, guys. The game's on, but Bobby's asleep. It's halftime, so please don't wake him up till the third quarter starts, ok? He had a hard week." Jerry looks in the den and sees Bobby knocked out, covered in a thick blanket, then looks at Elle and grins.

"You cover him up?"

"Yeah, ever notice how he frowns in his sleep when he's cold? Oh yeah, there's all kinds of stuff in the kitchen, so help yourselves. I have to go to the hardware store, Bobby keeps forgetting to fix the upstairs sink so I'm just going to do it myself." When she leaves, Elle once again gently shuts the door, careful not to wake up Bobby.

_**She's so much better than me**_

_**I'm so unworthy of her**_

_**Why does she stay?**_

_**Why does she stay?**_

_**Why does she stay?**_

"Bobby! Wake up, you lazy bastard!" Angel barks, flopping next to him on the couch and giving him a generous smack on the head.

"Angel, what the hell?" Bobby groans, sitting up and fumbling with the blanket.

"What's up, bro?" Jerry asks, sitting in his usual chair.

"Nothin', man, nothin'. Who put this blanket on me?" Angel snorts and Jerry laughs.

"Please. That was Elle, man. I have no idea why that woman hasn't left your sorry ass by now." Angel says, punctuating his statement with a shove in Bobby's direction.

"Umm, maybe because we're married? Where is she anyway? Baby!" Bobby yells. Angel and Jerry exchange looks at his tone.

"First of all, she went to the hardware store cuz you keep forgetting to fix that damn sink." Jerry says.

"And second of all, if I called Sofi like that, she'd beat my ass till it was more blue then black. Elle puts up with that shit?" Bobby pauses in wiping the sleep from his eyes and shoots Angel a glare.

"What? She knows I love her. And what are you two, Oprah and Dr. Phil? My marriage is fine. You two been watchin' too many talk shows or something." Angel and Jerry don't let it go.

"Angel, how much you wanna bet he don't do nothing around the house to help out?"

"Like laundry or the dishes? Man, I'd bet my salary."

"I have a fucking job." Bobby points out defensively.

"So does Elle." Jerry shoots right back. The brothers stop talking once the game comes back, but Bobby's mind is racing now.

"Guys, you need to go."

"What? Man, we was just kiddin'!" Bobby gets them out, despite their vocal protests, and starts to work.

_**Step outside of myself and see how much she loves me**_

_**And all the things I should do for her and don't**_

_**And I realize**_

_**She's so much better than me**_

_**I'm so unworthy of her**_

_**Why does she stay?**_

_**Why does she stay?**_

_**Why does she stay?**_

"Bobby? Bobby, where are you? And why are all the damn lights off?" Elle makes her way through the living room to the kitchen by touch and stops in shock.

"Hey, baby." Bobby is dressed in his best slacks and his only dress shirt, grinning crookedly with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. Takeout from their favorite restaurant is on their best plates, neatly set out for two, and two uneven candles are providing flickery light, revealing a vase of jade lilies. Elle can't speak because of the lump in her throat and Bobby starts to ramble.

"The fucking flower shop was out of roses and I couldn't find two even candles and I didn't have time to cook, not that you'd probably want me to…" Elle can hear the faint strains of Frank Sinatra's "Moonlight Serenade" on the record player sitting on the counter.

"Bobby…" She whispers, trying not to cry. Bobby flushes and extends a hand.

"Dance with me, Mrs. Mercer?" He asks huskily. Elle takes his hand and they begin to dance around the table.

"Why are you doing all this? Not that I'm not utterly blown away, but…" She looks him in the eyes, searching for a reason for the uncustomary tenderness.

"Because I love you and I don't show it nearly enough." Is the quiet answer as he presses a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"I know you love me, Bobby."

" But why do you stay with me? You're the perfect wife and I'm a lazy asshole." Elle smiles in contentment and snuggles her head beneath Bobby's prickly chin.

"Because, you idiot, I love you too."

_**She's in love, she's in love, she's in love**_

_**And I don't understand, and I don't understand**_

_**She's in love, she's in love, she's in love**_

_**Gotta be a better man for her**_

_**So I'll take my time and do what I'm supposed to do**_

'_**Cause I just can't see myself without you**_

.


End file.
